Rivers faces his first real test

SAN DIEGO -- The NFL playoffs represent new territory for Philip
Rivers. How the Chargers' first-year starting quarterback holds up
under the pressure could very well dictate whether the team's
express run toward the Super Bowl continues -- or stops dead in its
tracks.

There is no shortage of opinion on how Rivers will fare in his
first postseason foray when the Chargers host New England on
Sunday.

Teammates are confident that the 25-year-old Rivers will
continue to play with the poise of a quarterback 10 years older.
Guiding an NFL team to a 14-2 record is an impressive feat and can
calm a lot of concerns.

Then there are analysts like former NFL quarterback Boomer
Esiason. During a television interview Tuesday, Esiason said that
Rivers' shaky late-season play makes him a big question mark, and
that he thinks Rivers is in for a difficult day against the
Patriots.

Regardless, coach Marty Schottenheimer has no qualms over having
a first-year starter at his disposal at a time when an early exit
could possibly lead to his own departure.

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Schottenheimer once
entered the playoffs with a quarterback who had even less
experience than Rivers.

Schottenheimer was coach of the 1985 Cleveland Browns when they
entered the playoffs as huge underdogs to the host Miami Dolphins.
Cleveland's regular-season record was 8-8, and its quarterback was
a rookie -- 22-year-old Bernie Kosar.

Yet the Browns jumped out to a 21-3, lead and the powerful
Dolphins had to stage a frantic rally to pull out a 24-21
victory.

"Bernie did extremely well," Schottenheimer said recently. "I
see similarities in Philip and Bernie, particularly in the mental
makeup and the intellect and the instinctive aspect of the game.
They're very similar from that respect.

"Bernie did a terrific job for us. He was our quarterback in '85
and the two (AFC) championship games with Denver the next two
years. Philip is like Bernie in that they are ahead of the learning
curve because of their instincts, their intellect and their
leadership abilities."

Cleveland's game plan that afternoon was built around its
running attack -- Earnest Byner rushed for 161 yards and two
touchdowns -- and Kosar only passed for 66 yards.

It certainly doesn't hurt Rivers that he enters his first
playoff start with the NFL's top running back on his side.

LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 1,815 yards and scored a record
31 touchdowns while winning the league's MVP award -- no small
factor in the eyes of former Chargers general manager Bobby
Beathard.

"Every coach dreams of having a great running game for a young
quarterback, so the quarterback doesn't have to carry them," said
Beathard, a longtime Leucadia resident. "The Chargers not only have
that, but Philip Rivers seems like he sure carries his load
too."

Rivers certainly silenced any chatter that Drew Brees should
have continued as the Chargers quarterback by putting together a
splendid season. Rivers passed for 3,388 yards and 22 touchdowns
and was intercepted just nine times.

Now comes the postseason, where the terrain is often tougher for
veteran quarterbacks, let alone young ones. The pressure is
ratcheted up, the stakes are increased.

"Yeah, I don't need to hear it from the outside," Rivers said.
"We all know what it is. We all know what we're dealing with. I
think it goes back to keep doing what we've been doing and just go
out there and play within ourselves."

The bar has been raised for young quarterbacks in recent years,
primarily because of the guy Rivers will see across the sidelines
Sunday -- New England's Tom Brady.

Brady was a sixth-round draft choice in 2000 who replaced the
injured Drew Bledsoe as the Patriots' starter early in the 2001
season. His first NFL touchdown pass came in a mid-October game
against the Chargers, a contest in which Brady passed for 364 yards
and rallied the Patriots from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to
a 29-26 overtime victory.

The victory was the beginning of a stretch in which New England
won 10 of its final 12 regular-season games. The Patriots ran the
table in the playoffs and stunned the St. Louis Rams in the Super
Bowl.

All of 24 years old, Brady was named Super Bowl MVP. Since then,
Brady has since gone on to win two more Super Bowl rings with the
Patriots.

Another quarterback who had quick success was Pittsburgh's Ben
Roethlisberger, selected in the same 2004 NFL draft as Rivers.
Roethlisberger guided the Steelers to a Super Bowl title last
season in his second year at age 23. He's also the only quarterback
in NFL history with a better all-time regular-season record (15-1)
through his first 16 career starts than Rivers (14-2).

Roethlisberger became a starter during his rookie season when
Tommy Maddox was injured, and the Steelers won all 13 of his
regular-season starts. But his first trip to the playoffs wasn't
all that smooth.

The Steelers were nearly ousted in the divisional round by the
New York Jets before prevailing in overtime. New York kicker Doug
Brien missed two field goals in the final two minutes; his second
attempt was set up when Roethlisberger threw his second
interception of the contest.

Then Roethlisberger was intercepted three times by New England
as the Steelers lost the AFC championship game.

Asked about Roethlisberger recently, Rivers said Big Ben's
playoff experiences don't factor into the equation for him. He also
makes it clear that he looks at himself as just another piece of
the puzzle.

"I didn't take this team to the playoffs," Rivers said. "Look at
our team. I was fortunate enough to step into a situation and I
played at a consistent enough level to help us get there. We have a
great team with great players. The offensive line has played
unbelievable and the defense and special teams have been great.

"Obviously, that's the way it is -- the quarterback gets the
credit for wins and losses, but it is our team that won and lost. I
was just fortunate to be a part of it."

Yet a team doesn't go 14-2 without steady quarterback play. And
the Chargers are expecting a strong performance from Rivers on
Sunday.

"I'm expecting Philip to come out and have one of the best games
of his career," tight end Antonio Gates said. "Obviously, that's
the focus point. It's on Philip Rivers and, 'Can he get the job
done?' Everybody in the locker room believes that -- 'Hey, this is
our guy. He can lead us to a world championship.'"